Internal-combustion engine.



J. GUNTHER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. 1912.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

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UNITED srarrns PATENT OFFICE.

JAKOB eun'rnnn, or isnirexsemanannaon. GERMANY.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31,1916.

Application filed February 28, 1912. Serial No. 680,514.

is mixed in 'a separate combustion chamber communicating with the cylinder and into which is injected a combustible fluid. It has been proposed at the end of the compression stroke to cause a plunger connected with the working piston to enter, with a certain amount of clearance, a reduced passage or neck connecting the cylinder with the combustion chamber, so that a stream of highly compressed air is forced into thecombustion chamber as the cylinder cbmpression space is reduced in capacity. In engines of this type the combustible fluid has hitherto been introduced at the neck so that it might be carried along by the said compressed air stream into the combustion chamber. With this arrangement, however, owing to the fact that the combustible fluid was introduced at one point only on the circumference of the prismatically formed stream of air, the combustible fluid was not properly atomized and mixed with the air. This objection was partly overcome'by providing a number of points of injection which, however, resulted in increasing the cost of construction, 'while' the consumption of combustible fuel was also relatively increased. According to the present invention, in engines of the type referred to these objections are avoided and a thor-' ough atomizing and mixing of the combustible fluid with the air is obtained, by a simple improvementin construction.

The chief feature of the present invention is that the combustible fluid is sprayed or injected into, approximately the center of and in a direction. opposed to thatsoih the annular or cone-shaped stream of ail-{flowing out of. the aforesaid neck connecting the working cylinder with the combustion chamber. 'Ihorougb. atomizi'ng and mixing ofthe combustible fluid with-the air is obtaihed owing to th'e'facts that the combus:

tible fluid is injected into the very center of a strong vortex of air which is set up by "the highly compressed air; asit flows out of the neck into the combustion chamber, that the combustible fluid rebounds fi'o n-thenose of the plunger on the piston and is broken up into a fine mist by the hollow vortex of air. By means of this arrangement not only is the running of the engine improved, but

also the consumption of combustible fluid is about 20%-25% less than in earlier engines of this type. Further, arranging the fluid injecting nozzle inthe rear wall of the combustion chamber gives a very simple construction compared with that entailed by the location of the injecting devices in'the sides of-the combustion chamber, more especially 'in view of the fact that hitherto an opening in the rear wall of the combustion chamber in the direction of the axis of the engine has been necessary in order to obtain access to the interior of the combustion chamber. Further, in comparison with-the arrangement in which the admission of the combustible fluid takes place into the neck'itself, a better and more evenly distributed cooling of the cylinder head is obtained since the water space is not broken up near the cylinder by supports which may easily bring about deformation of the neck and thusdestroy the intended eflect.

Figures 1 arid 2 on the drawing are sec-- tional views of an engine-embodying different forms. of my invention.

Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawingillustrates by way of example, onei modepfscarrying this invention into effect; Referring to Fig. 1 the working pistonzais. marine-dwith a cone shaped surface 5"having a prismatic, hereshown as a cylindrical extension d. The cone shaped wall 0 of the cylinder head is connected to the combustion chamber it by a cyindrical neck 6 within which the extension or plunger cl loosely fits so as to allow of a clearance space f. The injector nozzle 9 for the combustible flu'id is inserted as nearly central as possible inijtherear wall of the cylinder head.

i The injection of the combustible fluid takes place in the following frnanner: On the compression stroke the working piston compresses the air into the combustion chamber 70 Before the-compressionstroke is completed, the plunger d enters the'neck e and cuts off, to a certain extent depending upon the width of the. clearanceispace-f, the cone shaped annular space formedby the wall I) andthewall 0, from the'chamber is. As the iston and plungericontinue to advance the degree of "compression will be increased causin-g the air to pass in a powerful stream into the chamber 70 and to rebound from the rear wall thereof thus producing violent eddies. At the same time, that is to say at about the dead center, the combustible fluid is inj ected through the pipe or nozzle 9 into the chamber 7: and passing through the center of the vortex of air rebounds from the face of the plunger, is finely divided by the eddies and becomes thoroughly mixed with the air. By a suitable choice of'proportions the mixture will ignite automatically so that in such cases special ignition devices can be dispensed with.

Fig. 2 illustrates another mode of carrying the invention into effect in which the neck 6 is reduced by a further neck i) so that the stream of air as it issues takes the form of a cone or truncated cone converging toward the rear wall of the combustion chamber.

The injecting nozzle for the combustible fluid must be so proportioned that the fuel can pass within the hollow cone or the hollow prism and strike the face of the plunger and subject to these conditions the nozzle may have one of several outlets as in Fig. 1.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is 1. In an internal combusti'on engine, means for mixing and atomizing the fuel in the combustion chamber comprising, a nozzle for admitting fuel under pressure, means whereby part of the air in the combustion chamber may be more highly compressedthan the remainder, and means for directing a stream of the highly compressed air against the incoming fuel stream, whereby thorough atomization is effected.

2. In an internal combustion engine, having a combustion .chamber separate from the cylinder, a passageway connecting said chamber and cylinder, means for partially closing said passageway when the piston approaches the head end of the cylinder, whereby on further movement of the piston the air in the cylinder is more highly compressed than the air in the combustion chamber and a stream of air rushes through said passage way into said chamber, and anozzle in said chamber directly opposite said passageway for injecting fuel against and'i'nto' the incom- "ing stream of air. 4

3. In an internal combustion engine the.

combination of a Working cylinder, apiston therein, a separate combustion chamber in the cylinder head, an axial passage interconnecting said cylinder and'combustion chamber, a nozzle in said chamber directly opposite said passage for admitting the fuel under pressure, and a projection on the piston'head smaller in area than said passage, adapted to enter the passage as the piston approaches its head end dead center position, whereby a hollow cylindrical stream of air is driven against the fuel stream to cause thorough atomization of the latter.

4. In a four stroke cycle internal combustion engine, a working cylinder, a piston therein, a combustion chamber in the cylinder-head, an air inlet valve in said chamber, an exhaust valve in said chamber, a cylindrical passage connecting said chamber and cylinder, a projection on the piston head of smaller diameter than said passage adapted to enter said passage as the piston approaches its head end dead center position whereby a hollow cylindrical stream of air is injected into the combustion chamber, and a'fuel inlet directly opposed to said passage adapted to inject fuel under pressure into said chamber against the incoming air stream.

5, In combination, a cylinder, a head for the cylinder having a combustion chamber therein and in the plane of the cylinder, a piston to operate in said cylinder and having a frusto-conical head, said cylinder head being correspondingly depressed to receive the head of said piston and having a reduced passage communicating said cylinder and combustion chamber, a projection ofthe extremity of said conical piston head adapted to extend into said passage at the finish of the upward stroke of the piston and being ofa lesser diameter than said passage, a fuel inlet in the center of the combustion'chamber and arranged to admit a stream of fuel into said chamber in direct alinement with the said projection, the walls of said passage being converged so as to direct a hollow pencil of air into the fuel inlet upon the-finish of the upward stroke of the piston.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification'in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAKOB GUNTHER. Witnesses:

LOUIS VANDORY, WALTER HEINE. 

